Friday, December 31, 2004
Donation for the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
I have contributed US$53 via Amazon to the American Red Cross. This amount was collected from the clicks generated by Google Ads. For those who have supported this site by clicking the Google and Amazon ads. Thank you very much.
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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Greg have also updated his article on UAVs with new illustrations and materials.
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Air Vector:The Republic F-105 Thunderchief
Greg has updated the Air Vector section on the Republic F-105 Thunderchief with new illustrations and more details on the Wild Weasels.
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IAF, Navy start evacuation amid threats of fresh tsunami
The Indian Air Force have started air lifting vehicles and staff to the Car Nicobar island in order to launch a major rescue and relief operations in the interior parts, Defence Ministry officials said.
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U.S. Sailors Donate Essentials in Wake of Tsunami
U.S. Sailors forward deployed to Naval Support Activity (NSA), Bahrain, supported a relief drive Dec. 29-30 for survivors of the massive tsunami that struck Southeast Asia early this week. More than two tons of donations poured in from men and women in uniform, and from local nationals employed on the base. The aid consisted mostly of essentials: bottled water, food, clothes and toiletries.
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IAI's Elta seeking to sell South Korea Phalcon (Registration Required)
IAI's subsidiary Elta has teamed up with General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace and L3 Communications in a strong competition against Boeing to sell the Phalcon early airborne warning system to South Korea.
Labels: CAEW
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Two injured in IAF copter crash
An Indian Air Force helicopter crashed in thick fog in West Bengal Thursday, seriously injuring its pilot and co-pilot, police said.
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Tajik capital airport closed after Moldovan jet�s crash-landing
Tajikistan�s Dushanbe airport is temporarily closed after the crash-landing of an Ilyushin-76 transport jet belonging to Moldova�s Air Force.
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India on mercy mission in Sri Lanka
India, while battling its own tsunami ravages, is assisting Sri Lanka in a big way to cope with the calamity. Six MI-17 Indian Air Force helicopters are performing ferry duties within the island, carrying provisions, medicines and drinking water to remote areas and evacuating stranded people to safety.
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Pentagon bent on slashing expenditures
The Pentagon plans to retire the 36-year-old aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy from its 12-carrier fleet next year to save $60 billion.
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7th Fleet Units Help in Relief Operations in Southeast Asia
As directed by U.S. Pacific Command, Commander U.S. 7th Fleet is preparing to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the governments of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other affected nations to mitigate the effects of the recent earthquakes and tsunamis.
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Thursday, December 30, 2004
Donation for 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
I have added a banner from Amazon for those who wish to donate. 100% of the donation will be send to the American Red Cross. At the time of this post, the donation amount stands at US$3,121,170.23
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Aviation Nation 2004 Nellis AFB
We have a new photographer who contributed his photos today. I like to welcome Larry Grace. Hopefully we can see more of his works in future.
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Air Vector:The Lockheed S-3 Viking
Next month's Air Vector features another Lockheed product. The S-3 Viking.
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Copter Project to Be Resumed in 2005
The South Korean government has decided to resume from next year the Korea Multipurpose Helicopter procurement plan, officials at the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.
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Air Force to be made stronger, says Khaleda
Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on Wedenesday expressed her government's determination to continue its efforts to build the country's Air Force as a strong, effective and time-befitting force for the sake of greater national interests.
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Ops support center Airmen coordinate AF relief efforts
U.S. Pacific Air Forces officials have activated the 24-hour PACAF Operations Support Center to coordinate Air Force-related relief efforts for the devastation caused by tsunamis that struck 12 countries following an earthquake Dec. 26.
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Report: Fire caused Predator crash
A fire caused an MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to crash while supporting operations near Balad Air Base, Iraq, on Aug. 17, according to an Air Force report released Dec. 29.
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Officials release F-15 accident report
A loss of fuel to both engines resulted in a dual-engine flameout causing an F-15 Eagle to crash June 18 about 60 miles north of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., according to an Air Force report released Dec. 29.
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U.S. military cranking up relief efforts for stricken areas in Southeast Asia
U.S. military officials in the Pacific are cranking up humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief missions to Southeast Asia after a powerful earthquake triggered a catastrophic tsunami along the coastlines of Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and other nations Sunday.
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Pentagon plans cuts to fighter jets
According to the New York Times, the Pentagon is planning sharp cuts in the U.S. Air Force's program for its new F/A-22 fighter jet. Budget analysts said the cuts are intended to offset mounting U.S. deficits and the growing costs of the Iraq war.
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Yaron: Crisis with Pentagon must be resolved quickly
Israeli Ministry of Defense director-general Amos Yaron confirmed to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that there are problems between Israel and the US Department of Defense relating to the sale of weapons systems to China. His refusal to go into detail about the deal raised the ire of four Knesset members, who left the meeting in protest, and delayed proceedings for about an hour.
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ADDITIONAL HUMANITARIAN RELIEF TO TSUNAMI-HIT AREAS
The Singapore Government would be despatching 2 Chinook and 2 Super Puma helicopters to Indonesia to assist with the Indonesian government�s relief efforts. The RSAF is also prepared to deploy 2 Chinooks and 2 Super Pumas to aid the Thai relief efforts.
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AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE TO HELP SUMATRA�S TSUNAMI VICTIMS
Australia will send four C-130 Hercules to Indonesia to assist in the humanitarian relief effort, Defence Minister Robert Hill said.
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Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Donation for 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
Help do you part in this great diaster. If you wish to donate, please click on the link to contribute to the Red Cross. For my part, I'll donate all the earnings from Google Ads that readers click on this website up till 31st December 2004.
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Tsunami waves delay IAF's plans for Andamans
Sunday's tsunami waves have wrecked Indian Air Force's plans to turn the Andaman and Nicobar Islands into a major fighter base. The IAF had planned to place two SU-30 multi-role aircraft on the island base from January 5.
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U.S. to Delay Payments on Lockheed Jet Project (Registration Required)
The Pentagon will put off some potential payments to Lockheed Martin Corp. for the Joint Strike Fighter as an incentive to fix schedule delays, weight problems and cost overruns, according to the military program manager.
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Airmen bringing tsunami-relief supplies to devastated Thailand
Six USAF C-130 Hercules aircraft from Yokota Air Base, Japan, are expected to deliver relief supplies including food, shelter and clothing to Thailand within the next 24 hours.
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A scene of tsunami fury at IAF Station Carnic
An emotionally charged IAF Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy said "in my 34 years of service, I have never seen an IAF Base Commander receiving his Chief dressed in a vest, pyjamas and chappal. He (Base Commander Group Captain V V Bandopadhyay of Indian Air Force Station Carnic) has nothing left".
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USS Lincoln to help with tsunami relief efforts
USS Abraham Lincoln which is currently in Hong Kong will head to the Indian Ocean to help with tsunami relief efforts. USS Bonhomme Richard will head for the region also.
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Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Navy providing some help to countries hit by tidal wave -- may provide more
The U.S. Navy base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean has emerged unscathed from the tsunami. Three P-3 Orion aircraft have been deployed to Thailand to help in search efforts.
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Missed deadline delays new J-STARS engines
The U.S. Air Force was late in sending the J-STARS re-engining economic analysis report to the U.S. Congress, thus missing the deadline to get any funding in the 2005 budget cycle to re-engine the planes.
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DARPA Cancels Third Phase Of UCAR Program
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has chosen to cancel the third phase of the Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) program due to lack of funding from the U.S. Army.
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Russia and China to hold maneuvers
Russia and China will hold joint military maneuvers on Chinese territory next year involving their air forces and navies, Russia's defense minister said on Monday. Strategic bombers may take part in the exercise as well.
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Drone Tug-o-War Brings Chinese Dep. PM to Jerusalem, Involves Rumsfeld
Chinese deputy prime minister, Tang Jiaxuan, flew in to Israel secretly Saturday night, December 25. His mission is to recover an unspecified number of Israel-built Harpy unmanned aerial attack vehicles sent to Israel for overhaul or upgrade and were held back by Israel at Washington�s insistence.
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Monday, December 27, 2004
23 killed in Car Nicobar island, IAF base washed away
The entire Indian Air Force base in Car Nicobar island has been virtually washed away by Tsunami waves with 23 air force personnel and their family members being killed, IAF Chief Air Marshal S Krishnaswamy said.
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Armed forces launch rescue operation in coastal areas
The Indian Air Force and the Navy are pressing transport aircraft, helicopters and warships to undertake massive rescue and relief operations all along the country�s eastern coastline and isolated islands to search for dead and trapped persons after tsunamis hit the region.
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Army report urges better pilot training in wake of helicopter crash
A report, published this month in Flightfax, an U.S. Army aviator safety magazine, urged the need to properly train helicopter crews and ensure that at least one experienced pilot always is on board.
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Sunday, December 26, 2004
DVD Review : NOVA Battle of the X-Planes
This is the 1st of, what I hope, many series of reviews on books and videos. I'll start off with NOVA's Battle of the X-Planes. The film crew was allowed into Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works and Boeing's Phantom Works for the Joint Strike Fighter Competition between 1998 to 2001. The program contains alot of scenes that viewers will not get to see on the local news channel or even Discovery Wings. Coming up after this review will be 3 books by Robert K. Wilcox. Stay tuned.
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USA will fly its F-16s, Chinese air chief to attend
Chinese General Qiao Qingchen, Commander of the PLAAF, is expected to attend Aero Show 2005, to be held from February 9-13, 2005 in Bangalore.
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Russia plans new military aircraft sales to China
Rosoboronexport and the Chinese Air Force is expected to sign several new contracts for Su-30MK2 fighters, according to the Interfax news agency. Pre-contract work on supplying Il-76 Candid military transports and Il-78 Midas aerial tankers were almost finished as well.
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Boeing plant trims work force, but says hundreds more to be hired
Dozens of workers at Boeing's Ridley Township helicopter plant may be out of a job after the holidays due to outsourcing of warehousing operations, but officials say they expect the plant's work force to grow by several hundred over the next five years.
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San Diego-based carrier Stennis will soon sail for new home port
USS John C. Stennis is scheduled to leave San Diego for its new home of Bremerton, Wash., Jan. 5.
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US carrier's port call in HK not related to Taiwan
USS Abraham Lincoln Battle Group's visit to Hong Kong has nothing to do with the cross-strait situation, and is merely to allow the group's sailors to spend their Christmas vacation in the harbor city, Rear Admiral Doug Crowder said.
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Saturday, December 25, 2004
Defense Holds Key To Boeing's 2005, Division Chief Says
Boeing acknowledges that defense spending will likely begin to slow and that the controversy surrounding its hiring of former Air Force procurement official Darleen A. Druyun will continue to make business more difficult next year.
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Settlement reached in helicopter crash suit (Registration Required)
Lawyers have settled a lawsuit with McDonnell-Douglas Helicopter Co. and Boeing over a 2002 Apache helicopter crash at Camp Blanding in Clay County that killed one airman and injured another.
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Russian Air Force Gets New Su-27 Fighter Planes
The Russian Air Force took delivery of seven modernized Su-27 Flanker fighter planes on Thursday.
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US Army choppers, F-16s to fly at Aero India show
US Army helicopters and F-16 jets will take part in the Aero India show to be held Bangalore Feb 9-13 next year.
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Japan eyes joining next-generation stealth jet project: report
Japan is considering joining the F-35 project after ending its decades-old ban on military exports, a newspaper said Friday.
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Sea King pilots resigned to holding pattern as replacement process drags on
When Canadian Defence Minister Bill Graham came to the Shearwater air base in Nova Scotia to announce that a fleet of 28 Sikorsky helicopters would replace Canada's aging Sea Kings, the reaction from the assembled airmen was, to say the least, muted.
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Taskforce aims to ease base cuts blow
The impact of a double RAF base closure on local businesses, families and schools is being investigated by a special taskforce.
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India to sell Dhruv helicopter
India made a strong pitch to sell its home-grown helicopter Dhruv to Malaysia with a breathtaking performance by the Sarang helicopter aerobatic team in the presence of visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmed Badawi.
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CCS okays revised cost estimate for Kaveri engine
The Indian Cabinet Committee on Security has approved the revised cost estimate of Rs 2,800 crore for the Kaveri Engine Project for India�s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas.
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All TNI choppers grounded following crashes
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen.Endriartono Sutarto on Friday ordered to temporarily ground helicopters following two accidents in just two days. An Indonesian Air Force NAS-332 Super Puma crashed in the Dieng plateau in Wonosobo regency, Central Java killing all 14 officers on board, while on Wednesday an Indonesian Navy Bell-212 chopper was downed with five people feared dead in Nabire, Papua.
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Friday, December 24, 2004
DOD Solid-State Laser Demos Delayed Three Months
The U.S. Defense Department's Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program has delayed demonstrating 25-kilowatt solid-state lasers by about three months because the three teams involved in the effort need more time, according to program officials.
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Command tests UAV capabilities in urban environments
U.S. Joint Forces Command recently teamed with the U.S. Marines Corps and others to experiment with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities that can be applied to enhance warfighting operations in urban environments.
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Czech's wary of Gripen costs
Hungarian Defense Ministry (HM) and US officials from the Pentagon have signed an agreement for Hungary to acquire 28 US-made Amraam AIM-120C-5 type advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles.
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Latest Sukhoi fighter configuration certified
India and Russia have certified the latest Sukhoi fighter configuration, known as Mk3.
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Cobham lands US radar deal
Cobham, yesterday reached an agreement to buy Remec Inc, a US maker of radar technology for $260m (�135m) in the biggest deal of its 70-year history.
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RUSSIAN LONG-RANGE AVIATION CELEBRATES 90TH ANNIVERSARY
The Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Air Force (RusAF) is celebrating its 90th anniversary on Thursday. The holiday was established in 1999 by the order of the Air Force Chief Commander.
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Thursday, December 23, 2004
�Silver Lobos� fly into retirement
The U.S. Air Force�s last operational F-4 Phantom II squadron held its inactivation ceremony Holloman Air Base Dec. 20.
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Lincoln to make Hong Kong port call
The USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with about 6,000 sailors, will dock in Hong Kong this week for a port call.
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BAE Secures Hawk Trainer Jet Contract
The U.K. Ministry of Defense has awarded a 158.5 million pound to BAE Systems to design and develop a new Hawk trainer jet.
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Saab Systems wins order for further development of Armed Forces air defence system
Saab Systems has received an MSEK 98 order for continued development of StriC, the Swedish Air Defence System, and Strics, a customized air simulator system for StriC. StriC has been used by the Swedish Air Force since 1998 in control of the JAS 39 Gripen fighter.
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Air Force seeks cause of F/A-22 crash (Registration Required)
U.S. Air Force officials were keeping a tight lid Tuesday on details surrounding the crash of a Lockheed Martin-built F/A-22 Raptor fighter jet.
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'Belgium dropped plans to sell F-16 jets to Pakistan'
Belgium decided not to sell second-hand nuclear-capable F-16 jets to Pakistan following a request from India, Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee informed parliament Wednesday.
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Turkey Signs for Head-of-State Sikorsky S-92
The Turkish government has signed a contract for a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to serve head-of-state missions.
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Five Killed in Helicopter Crash
Five people were killed when an Indonesian Navy Bell-212 helicopter crashed into a river in Papua province on Wednesday during a test flight.
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Crash leads to investigation, Raptor safety stand down
Commanders of units flying the F/A-22 Raptor called for a safety stand down of the fleet following a crash Dec. 20 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
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Wednesday, December 22, 2004
First Production KAI T-50 Supersonic Trainer Enters Final Assembly
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) began final assembly on the first production T-50 supersonic trainer on Dec. 17 at the company�s modern aircraft manufacturing facilities at Sacheon, South Korea.
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Raging Bull
An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the Bulls of Strike Fighter Squadron Three Seven (VFA-37) launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Philip V. Morrill.
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Northrop Grumman, Air Force Use Joint STARS Surveillance Aircraft to Demonstrate Secure, Airborne Internet Capability
The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully demonstrated an airborne capability to collaborate real time via Internet 'chat rooms', e-mail, and the Web, all within a secure, classified environment. The new approach allows personnel on board the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft to "talk" to units and command centers on the ground.
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Navy defends airfield selection
E-mails that appear to show the U.S. Navy had political motivations for picking Washington and Beaufort counties for a controversial new airfield were taken out of context, the Navy said Monday.
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Officials close unit in France
The USAF 774th Expeditionary Air Base Group officially closed its doors at Istres Air Base during a ceremony Dec. 17, ending more than a decade of U.S. and French cooperation. Istres has been home to U-2 DragonLady reconnaissance aircraft from 1996 to 1999 and KC-135 Stratotankers since 1994.
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Boeing ScanEagle UAV Demonstrates Communications Relay Utilizing Harris� Secure Wireless Technology
ScanEagle, a long-endurance fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Boeing and The Insitu Group, successfully demonstrated high-speed wireless communications relay during a recent flight at the Boeing Boardman test range.
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